Good morning! Today I have a post from Bryan, a personal finance blogger and freelance writer at Gajizmo.com. Bryan graduated from a top-ranked university with a finance degree and has worked in M&A and private equity for 3 years. Please contact me if you would like to guest post on RFI.
In today’s economy, everyone can use a little extra income, but finding ways to make more money may take some imagination. Competition is prevalent in every niche and industry, so you may need to try a unique approach but the results may be worth the additional effort. There will of course be a learning curve and success or recognition may not come instantly, but individuals who work hard, network, and choose a field they are passionate about will almost always come out on top. The biggest benefit is that whatever money you make on the side can go directly to your savings or retirement account, while your primary income takes care of your living expenses. Whatever you choose to do may not get you rich, but every bit helps bring you closer to your dreams.
Freelance Work
Outsourcing has become a popular way for small businesses to get services without the expense of hiring full time employees. Freelance websites such as FreeLancer.com, Fiverr.com, ELance.com, and ODesk.com allow you to list jobs and people with the required skillset place bids to do the work. Skills you can market include data entry, copywriting, web design, programming, translating foreign languages and other work that can be accomplished on a home PC. The amount of money you can make depends on your skills and the time you can devote to the work.
As a freelancer offering services, you will have to post a profile with your education and experience and have a PayPal or MoneyBookers account to receive payments. Look for websites that rate employers since some non-rated employers may not be reliable about making payments. Freelancer.com has a milestone program where bidders can request part of or all of their payment be placed in an escrow account that is released when the job is completed.
Additionally, if you are specifically looking for writing opportunities, you may be better off working for large online media companies such as Quinstreet, Investopedia.com, Examiner.com, or Babble.com.
Direct Selling
There are a lot of direct sales companies that contract with individuals to sell their products, including Avon, Mary Kay, Amway and specialty lingerie companies. Some utilize party plans while others encourage sales to family and friends. Although there are bonuses and incentives for recruiting new salespeople, the average direct sales representative makes about $115 dollars a month; however, you must consider that not everyone who joins actively sells. The amount of time and effort you spend on this affects your income and, as an independent contractor, you are responsible for reporting your income to the IRS. In the end, if you have a lot of female friends or are a part of a large community, as long as you offer comparable prices to what could be found online or in-store, there is no reason your friends would not buy through you and help you make a commission.
On the flip side, if there is a local manufacturer or retailer that is not known nationally, it may be prudent for you to open an eBay or Amazon store and sell their products on their behalf. If the company is small enough, approach a sales representative or the owner and inquire about wholesale prices to help them improve brand exposure and selling through new mediums.
Sell Clothing
If you have children, especially infants, you know they often outgrow their clothes before the clothes wear out. Most of us have things taking up space in our closets that we will probably never wear again. Whether it’s a wedding gown, a prom dress, business suit, blouse, or kids clothing, consignment shops will sell your items and give you cash. The commission is usually 10% to 20 % of the sales price and the clothing must be clean and in good condition, but this can net some cash and help you clean out your closet and attic.
However, why stop there? If you are willing to do a bit of leg work, sell your goods online. This can easily turn into a full-fledged internet business. Just ask Sophia Amoruso of NastyGal.com, who founded a $100 million revenue online retailer by first visiting Goodwill stores and picking out undervalued, fashionable items and selling them online. For example, Amoruso explains that she once found a Chanel outfit in a bin, bought it for $8, and turned around and sold it for $1,000. These opportunities don’t come around every day, but unless you are in the business and coming up with creative ways to make money, these things will never cross your mind.
Start A Small Business or Work Part Time
If you are a handyman, can repair electronics or appliances or love to do yard work, a part-time business at home can bring in extra cash. Word of mouth, business cards on community bulletin boards and an ad in the local paper should be enough advertising to get you started. Cleaning houses, housesitting, dog walking, evening childcare and sitting with elderly shut-ins are also services that are in demand. Think about what you can offer and how much time you can spend working a second job before you put the wheels in motion. The best part is that most of these simple services can be good businesses for your kids, who will likely be paid in cash and can avoid paying taxes.
On the other hand, with the U.S. Affordable Care Act coming into full swing early next year, health insurance will be required of all U.S. citizens. If you run a small business on the side, health insurance premiums may become prohibitively expensive. While most restaurant businesses do not offer benefits to part time employees, coffee houses like Starbucks and Coffee Bean, UPS, Costco, JC Penney, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Safeway and Kroger have great benefits for employees who work 20 to 30 hours per week. The pay isn’t bad either since part-timers can make between $8.00 and $15.00 per hour to start. If you need a part time job, or you need medical insurance for yourself or your family, working part-time at certain companies may be the best way to supplement your paycheck.
Get A Roommate
If you have an extra room in your home or apartment, you may be able to share expenses with another person. If your space is rented or you live in a condo, you should check with your landlord or condo association before subletting. Make sure you have a written agreement stating the terms of the sublet, especially if your roommate is a friend or family member. Splitting monthly expenses or getting paid rent on your extra space is an easy way to make extra money every month, especially if the roommate doesn’t know how much the entire apartment costs. I’ve heard many situations where people have charged more than 50% of the rent to their roommate despite keeping the bigger bedroom and bathroom for themselves. Because rents and real estate values are starting to increase again, you may be locked-in at a lower rate than what the market would charge right now.
Get Rid of Stuff You Don’t Use, Including Jewelry
If the need for cash is immediate and short term, you can get quick money by selling your unwanted or broken gold jewelry. Gold prices are at an all-time high so check your jewelry box to see if there are pieces you don’t use or don’t intend to have fixed. The jewelry must be at least 14 carat gold since buyers are not interested in gold fill or gold plate. You can also sell sterling silver flatware and serving pieces, but silver jewelry doesn’t have enough weight to make it profitable.
Furthermore, if you have been paying rent on a storage unit for more than six months, chances are you do not need the things you are paying to store. Many storage facilities will let you have a sale right in your unit. Sell that unnecessary stuff and save the monthly fees while earning some quick cash. Chances are you need the money more than you need the stuff anyway, and you never know what priceless antiques you may find going through your own storage unit.
Use Your Car For Advertising
You have probably noticed cars and trucks with graphic advertisements plastered all over them. Those cars do not necessarily belong to the business that is advertised. Businesses will pay car owners to allow them to cover their cars with their ads. Payments are between $100 and $600 per month and some companies even provide the car. Just go to the company website and fill out your demographic information. If the company decides to use your car, the promotion could last from a few months to a few years.
While this is a great way to earn a few bucks with very little effort, you may not be chosen or may be put on a waiting list so this is not a sure way to earn more. You will have to drive a set number of miles each month to fulfill your contract, but if you have a long commute to work, this could pay some of your expenses. It takes several hours to have your car wrapped with the ads, but once the ads are removed, your car is undamaged.
There are other ways to earn extra money in your spare time, especially if you have a PC and internet access. Use that PC to pay for itself and your monthly internet bills by using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and completing HITs (Human Intelligence Tasks). A little creativity could help you earn extra money to save for future financial goals.
You forgot the less well known printing press in the basement method.
My favorite way to make more money is to invest in dividend paying stocks. It’s like getting a pay raise every month as I invest new capital in income producing investments.
I wanted to buy dividend paying stocks when the marketed corrected, but the likes of KO, MCD, ATT, GE, KMI, etc have not given me a decent entry point to purchase. Nonetheless, I’ll get there sometime this year – at least I hope.
I’ve been looking into ways to make some side income, but honestly I don’t know where I want to begin. I’m currently not finished with my degree so it feels that freelance work may be out of the question. However, I’ve been thinking of writing an e-book. It seems like a big undertaking though.
An eBook is a huge undertaking, but if done right, can yield thousands in sales. I would highly suggest you choose a topic you are passionate about, provide more information than the price warrants, and reach out to every PF blogger as your affiliate. You can use an affiliate marketing company called Clickbank to take care of tracking for you. For the effort, an eBook can really be worth the return if you market it right.
We’re currently looking to make more income on the side, so I always appreciate these types of posts. Lots of good info here: thanks, Bryan and Pauline!
Oddly enough, we use most of these methods, minus the car advertising. I’m afraid I’ll have to keep Holly away from this post or that might be next!
The best way to look at that situation is – at least you are blessed with an ambitious wife! =) That is always the best type of business partner to have!
I tried to use my car for advertising a few times, but it is very competitive. When you do win the “car lotto” here in NYC, you get your gas paid for completely!!
I have done (and continue to do) a number of these things to supplement my income. I think having a roommate/tenant is the hardest one as you might have to address issues quickly and make sure you respond to repair requests in reasonable time. Freelance work is probably the easiest, though starting your own biz gives you more control.
Good post Bryan. There are many ways to make some extra side income. Some are easier than others, but they can all be done.
We do a number of these things ourselves and eventually took our business full time. If you can write reasonably well, freelance writing can be a great way to make some extra money and one that I do often.
We do a couple of things on this list. We rent a room to my sister and that is super easy money. It’s also nice to have someone home throughout the day as well who can help let the dogs out 🙂
We’d love to find someone to rent with in TX! 1BR stuff down there is pretty pricey…
Michelle – this is a post I’d love to see you write. Your extra side income is huge, and I’d love to know how the bulk of it is made. I think that would be great inspiration for everyone trying to start something online.
Hey Bryan! I have made tons of posts on where my side income is from, and you can find the links to the individual posts along with short summaries on this page. http://www.makingsenseofcents.com/extra-income
I apologize for not being clear initially. I meant that I’ve always wondered what “(consulting as well as advertising such as direct advertising and Adsense, but after all expenses)” meant exactly. I know Adsense isn’t the largest contributor, so I wonder what “consulting” exactly entails and how that category is divided between direct advertising (sponsored guest posts?) and the consulting. I’m sure that is asking for too much details, but it has made me curious on multiple occasions. Either way, with your full-time job and this being your side income, you are doing an incredible job! =)
Oh gotcha! 🙂 I’ve been told not to detail the different percentages in order to be safe. I talk about the different methods (besides consulting) in this recent post http://www.makingsenseofcents.com/2013/04/how-to-make-money-blogging.html
Consulting entails a lot of blog consulting/coaching that I do for other bloggers, and managing different aspects of their blogs.
I currently just consult 4 hours a week so I can be home with the baby. Have definitely used or considered most of the others here. So far things are going well the way we’ve structured things, though!
“…Kroger have great benefits for employees who work 20 to 30 hours per week. The pay isn’t bad either since part-timers can make between $8.00 and $15.00 per hour to start.”
By wife works at a Kroger store. Starting pay isn’t anywhere near those amounts. Instead, it is minimum wage. She worked at that store for 4 years before she hit $15/hr.
And their health benefits aren’t all that phenomenal either. We have the choice between two different high deductible plans. The lower deductible, for just the store associate, works out to almost 20% of the annual starting salary for somebody working 20 hours per week.
I never considered using my car for advertising, what a great idea!
Yes, I agree, Nick. I want my car wrapped up right now!
I’ve certainly done some of these things, but I would be terrible at direct sales. I’d probably end up giving stuff away and having to pay it back myself. I think if you are motivated, there are always ways to bring in some side money.
Anything that leverages your time can be beneficial – meaning that if you can do the work one time and get paid over and over again for that work, you are on your way1
We know someone who buys designer clothes at the second hand stores and sells them on Facebook. The amount of money she makes is insane. She makes more doing that then her full-time job. People love clothes, it’s a lucrative side income once you build up a following.
Hi Bryan, thank you for all the helpful ideas. Do you know where to start with the car advertisements? We live in TX.
Great list. One word of caution about the car advertisements is that there are a lot of scams out there in this industry. If any company asks you to pay them first, the red flag should be going off. There are reputable companies in this industry, they are just outnumbered by the scams. Be careful, do your homework and ask a lot of questions first so you can protect yourself and your money.
Which of these gives the greatest ROI on your time? I suppose it depends on much, but one has to be very careful that these little side jobs do not add up to full-time work – at least for me. Right now, renting looks like the easiest and most profitable option for us. Thank you for such a fine list. Gotta check out Amazon’a Mech Turk!
Well information! Surely I will try to follow your points. Thank you so much for this information. I really appreciate this. 🙂
I am good with computers and I’m planning to check out freelance work. This will give me more additional income for my mortgage.
Rose
This article has inspired me to be a better writer. I hope you continue to write on this topic and add even more original points. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing us some great ways to make money. This is such a big help to us. May you continue to post more about this topic.
Great ways of earning cash! The ideas in this article were not just limited to online work but can be used in everyday situations as well. Continue the good work!
Thanks for an informative article! I just found out about fiverrr which is a pretty neat website! Keep up the good work!
You could also sell some of your older cell phones on ebay or craigslist. In fact, some people look for good deals or people trying to get rid of their used phones in a hurry, they buy them, and then resell them for more money.
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